Unrequited
by hiddenheart519
Summary: Years after graduating Beacon Academy and losing close contact with his teammates, Lie Ren finds an old picture within the pages of his favorite book, bringing back old memories he had hidden away from himself. The happiness he had built for himself has been shaken, and it's all because of one girl he had long forgotten. Sad RenXNora (kinda) with a very minor OC and character death
1. Solo Missions

**Solo Missions**

Nora Valkyrie whooped as she shot a grenade towards the Giant Nevermore while it swooped down at her. She used the momentum from her grenade launcher/giant war hammer, Magnhild, to push herself back, safely away from the Grimm's talons that could easily rip her in half. The ginger-haired woman took momentary coverage in the thick, jungle-like undergrowth, rubbing sand off her face in an attempt to keep it out of her blue eyes.

She was a Huntress, having trained four years at Beacon Academy in the Kingdom of Vale, which was halfway across Remnant from where she stood now. After graduating Beacon, Nora had gone on very few missions with her entire team, which, although not unusual for many Hunters, was not what her team had planned. Team JNPR, composed of the leader Jaune Arc, who was a world renowned Huntsman, greatly admired for not only his strength but also his strategic abilities, Nora Valkyrie herself, the Mistral-born celebrity and legendary Huntress Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren, a man Nora had grown up with and preferred not to think about.

Nevertheless, Nora found herself habitually waiting for Ren's voice to call for her to switch, before cursing herself at the momentary mistake. Taking a deep breath, Nora rushed out of the thick undergrowth and back out into the sand where the demonic beast was using powerful wing beats to create a miniature sandstorm. Nora swore, the grin that now only ever showed itself in the midst of a battle wavering. She used the crook of her elbow to shield her eyes, wincing against the sand as it cut into her arms.

Nora had begun taking solo missions, a rare thing for Hunters. At first it had felt odd, not having any backup, but month after month of practice on the field, alone save the monsters she faced, made the solitude seem almost normal.

Almost, but not quite.

With a giant leap, using both her aura and a shot fired from Magnhild, she launched herself into the air, out of the reach of the whirling sand but entering the territory of the flying Grimm, making herself an easier target. She gave a cry, kicking out her legs and firing another shot, this time at the Giant Nevermore as it lunged for her. The grenade patterned with a cheerful pink heart hit the beast in the neck, just under the beak, exploding on contact. The Grimm screeched, and Nora cringed against the grating sound, fighting the urge to release her tight grip on Magnhild and covering her ears.

Nora was deep in the heart of the Kingdom of Vacuo, the desert continent dotted with jungles and oases where cities sprung up, desperate for water and shelter in the harsh world. Vacuo's population consisted more of faunus than the other three kingdoms of Remnant, and it was easily the least racist of the four, treating both faunus and humans as if there were no difference between the races.

Nora fell to the ground, bending her knees and landing in the same position she had been since she was thirteen and had just began her training as a Huntress.

" _Nora, you're doing it again."_

" _I can't help it! The more I think about it, the worse I get!"_

 _He sighed. "You need to focus. Bend your knees, keep your balance, steady your breathing, and_ _ **focus**_ _."_

" _I'm_ _ **trying**_ _!" she groaned. She climbed to the top of the net and launched herself down from high atop the wall, landing stiff-legged once more on the mat before her training partner. She fought against gravity in an effort to keep her balance, but she inevitably lost, falling to the floor with a noise of surprise. She hung her head in defeat. "It's hopeless. I'll never be able to land right."_

 _He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Maybe you shouldn't focus."_

 _She looked up at him despairingly. "But you just said—"_

" _And now I'm saying this," the boy cut her off calmly. "_ _ **I**_ _have to focus to land properly. But you're not like me."_

 _She smiled. "Nope," she admitted brightly, popping the 'p'._

 _Giving an almost imperceptible smile at his best friend, he said, "Just follow your instincts. See how well you land then."_

 _Nodding determinedly, Nora scaled the ropes with blistered hands once more. At the closest point to the roof she could get without hitting her head, she took a deep breath, gazing down at the boy who smiled encouragingly at her. She gulped, closed her eyes, and flung herself off the net, letting her body go into autopilot. Her knees bent unbidden and she felt herself hit the mat, unhurt for the first time in weeks._

 _Her eyes opened ecstatically. "I did it!" She flashed a broad smile at him, bouncing up and flinging her arms around his neck. "Ren,_ _ **I did it**_ _!"_

Sharp, huge, black feathers impaled the ground around her, and her heart dropped. She had let herself be distracted. Rolling out of the way out the Giant Nevermore's feathers as they struck the sand, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

She heard a loud screech, closer than it should have been, and Nora's eyes widened as she converted Magnhild to its hammer form, ready to strike the huge Grimm.

Its claws were outstretched, and Nora put all her force into the blow as she swung, but the beast spread its wings out of the dive, briefly slowing it, and Magnhild connected with empty air. The momentum from the swipe with her hammer swung her around.

The Grimm's giant talons connected with her back, tearing through the skin. Nora gave an agonizing scream, the word ripped out of her throat. " _ **REN**_!"

But her partner wasn't there and he hadn't been there in years. Her best friend wasn't there and he used to always be there. The man she loved wasn't there and he would never be there.

And with that last painful realization, Nora's world turned black.


	2. Two Years Later

2

Two Years Later

"Ren, come help me unpack these boxes!"

Lie Ren walked into the bedroom of the house he and his fiancé, Ebony Okami, had just moved into. The dark-haired girl was sifting through a cardboard box that had her symbol, an owl, hastily sketched on the side.

"Could you unpack the books?" she asked, tossing a glance at him before returning to the box on the edge of the bed.

"Of course," Ren replied, walking toward the box labeled BOOKS on a strip of duct tape on the side and carried it to the front room where the empty bookshelf stood. He opened the box and pulled the books out three at a time, eyes flitting across each cover before putting it carefully on the shelf. He paused on his favorite book, Dance of Storms. Smiling, he leafed through the pages, fondly recounting the best scenes within, and as he did so, a paper fell out.

Ren curiously watched it float facedown to the carpeted floor. Laying the book on the shelf, he bent to retrieve the fallen paper. He turned it over thoughtfully.

The Huntsman froze. Slowly, he straightened and walked toward a dresser that stood below a mirror, eyes glued to the paper.

It was actually not a paper. Technically, it was a picture.

In the picture, a girl, about seventeen, with short orange hair and bright blue eyes had one arm flung around the shoulders of a faintly smiling boy of roughly the same age with long black hair tied back in a low ponytail and one streak of his hair dyed to match his magenta eyes.

Ren raised his hand and numbly stroked the flash of hair he dyed out of habit.

Nora Valkyrie. Ren hadn't thought about her in… in a long time. He had forgotten just why he started dying his hair bright pink (he'd only kept up the practice to hold onto a sliver of something familiar in an ever-changing world). But looking at the old picture of the best friends, it all came rushing back to him. Nora Valkyrie.

Suddenly there were arms around his waist, a chin on his shoulder, and a teasing voice tickling his ear, saying, "Keeping pictures of old girlfriends, I see."

Ignoring the surprising lack of even a hint of jealousy in her voice, he replied quietly. "We were never really together-together. She was my best friend."

There was a pause as Ebony studied the picture. "Hey I remember her! We met at the Vytal festival in our…" Ebony paused, pondering. "Third year?"

Ren nodded. Ebony and the rest of her team, Team ERTH from Kronos Academy in Atlas, met Ren and the rest of his team during the Vytal Festival, a celebration dedicated to the unity of the four kingdoms of Remnant held every year in Vale.

"Great Oum, it's been a while since I thought of her." Ebony paused thoughtfully, her vibrant green eyes narrowing. "She never called me."

Ren chuckled. "She was probably busy." He looked forlornly at the picture. He faintly remembered that he and Nora hadn't parted after graduation on very good terms. He couldn't quiet recall what the argument had been about, but he knew what was said was harsh.

"You two talk lately?" Ebony asked, walking to the bathroom and looking at herself in the mirror.

"No," he replied simply.

"Why not?" she asked curiously, putting in small diamond earrings.

"We… we got in a fight. Some things were said. We were keeping our distances until we cooled off, but… apparently she never forgave me…"

Ebony shot him a peculiar look through the mirror, fingers twisting skillfully in braiding her long black hair. "You know, I used to think she liked you."

"Nora?" Ren asked in surprise.

"Mm hm. I was so sure she did." Ebony turned, smiling at him and speaking before he could reply. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful," Ren answered, smiling halfheartedly. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah," she replied, leaving the bathroom and walking back to the bedroom. She raised her voice so Ren could hear her. "It's an ERTH/WNGZ reunion," she said brightly. Ebony and her sister, Wixan, had led their teams and both teams as well as a few other Hunters they had trained with, had a reunion every other month to catch up and slay Grimm for sport.

"Right. What time do you leave?" Ren asked.

Ebony smiled playfully. She walked out from the bedroom, putting her arms around Ren's shoulders and smiling at him. "Ready to get rid of me already?" she breathed playfully.

Ren gave a short laugh. "I've been hoping you'd do it on your own."

"Well, you're in luck tonight," Ebony laughed.

"Tonight and every other night?" he asked hopefully.

Ebony kissed his cheek. "No promises."

Ren gave a joking sound of disappointment.

Ebony laughed lightly. "I'm going to get my Scroll and I'll be off," she announced, dashing back to the bedroom.

Ren looked back at the picture in his hand, and he felt Ebony lightly touch his shoulder. He looked up in surprise as she slid something onto his lap. "Call her," she said softly. She walked to the front door. "I'll be back!" she called before closing it behind her.

Ren was alone in the house, with a memory and a Scroll.


	3. Teammates

Ren sat on the corner of the bed for what felt like hours, staring yet not seeing the Scroll and picture in his hands, his eyes unblinking. He wasn't sure what to think, and he didn't want to consider that problem yet, but he blinked, shutting his eyes tightly, and took a deep breath.

A thousand excuses found their way into his head, anything to keep him from having to call Nora Valkyrie.

 _She probably doesn't even want to talk to me. If she did, she would call me. She's not going to answer. It's late, she'll be asleep._

Ren paused, a memory drifting back to him. Nora didn't sleep, not this early in the night, and it was already eleven. He smiled faintly. _Sleep late, wake late_. For Nora, so much more could be accomplished by staying up late to finish something rather than waking up early to start it. She would be awake right now, Ren was sure of it.

 _I probably don't even have her in my contacts anymore,_ he thought to himself.

Sighing, he decided he had to at least check his Scroll.

He unlocked the Scroll, laughing at his lock screen-a picture of Ebony making a face. He unlocked the Scroll, pressing on his contacts.

He checked the N's for Nora.

Nothing.

His brow furrowing, he checked the V's.

No Nora Valkyrie.

Ren could have given up right there. _I could tell Ebony I couldn't find her number..._

Yet another part of Ren doubted the number wouldn't be in hos Scroll. It had to be. He would keep looking.

 _Blake Belladonna... Cardin Winchester... Dad... Dove Bronzewing... Ebony... Jaune Arc... Mom... Ozpin... Penny Polendina... Pyrrha Nikos... Queen of the Castle?_

The last name sent a bolt of mixed feelings through Ren-confusion, amusement, and shock. A cheerful tune rang in his head, and the words "I'm Queen of the Castle!" flitted back to him.

He couldn't remember ever putting that name in, so it had to have been changed by someone else. Maybe it was her.

He tapped the name, and the information came up. Next to the name were small images, one a white chess rook, a sloth, a lightning bolt, a stack of pancakes, and a pink bow. The contact icon was nearly the same as the picture in Ren's lap, the only difference being the circumstances-the ginger getting a piggy back ride from the dark haired boy rather than her just having her arms around him. It had to be her.

Ren's fingertip wavered over the call button, his heartbeat beginning to speed up. _Oum, what if she really_ _ **doesn't**_ _want to talk to me? What if... what if she_ _ **hates**_ _me?_

Ren gulped, figuring he deserved it if she did. What he said that day after graduation... it struck a nerve, just like he knew it would when he first said it. Back then, he had felt scared and upset and furious... now he regreted all of it.

Steeling his nerves, he pressed _call_.

 _Ring ring... Ring ring... Ring ring... Ring ring... Ring ring..._

There was a click, and Ren's heart stopped when Nora began to speak, but as she continued, his heart fell lower and lower.

"Ren, how can you tell when it's started? Oh- _oh_ , okay, it's on now. Heeey, this is Nora Valkyrie's Scroll! If I haven't answered, I'm probably eating Ren's pancakes, destroying Grimm with Ren, laughing while Ren tries to stop me from blowing things up, dragging Ren with me to find sloths, or my Scroll's dead and I'm using Ren's! So leave me a message or call Ren's Scroll and- wait, _Reeeen_! Gimme back my Scroll! What do you mean I can't tell them to call you? Renny give it back! _Reee_ -" _beep._

Ren's breath caught in his throat. He gulped, lowering his arm and staring at the Scroll. He hung up, not leaving a message.

His breathing was shallow, and he lay his Scroll beside him, rubbing his face. He sighed. She hadn't changed her voicemail. It had been the same one since their first year in Beacon.

He sat in silence for a long time, trying to marshal his feelings. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't just forget that Nora existed, not now, _especially_ not not, not when every minute that passed brought another memory, each more bittersweet than the last.

Ebony wouldn't be home for hours, he had plenty of time to procrastinate in delving deeper into his and Nora's past.

But did he want to put it off? The longer he thought about Nora, the more curious he became. The more guilt he felt. He remembered bits of what had happened the last day Team JNPR had seen each other all at once. Most importantly, he remembered what he had said to Nora that day. He remembered how much his words had hurt her. And the more he remembered, the worse he felt. What he had told her didn't seem like it would cut someone so deep, but Ren had known Nora almost their whole lives. He had known how to hurt her. For _years_ , she had trusted him with that knowledge, with the awareness of all her fears, her doubts, her insecurities, and in one bout of anger he had used the worst against her.

He rubbed his face wearily, sitting up straighter and letting his arms fall to his sides. Nora hadn't answered. Maybe she'd call back. Or... maybe she wouldn't. Was Ren supposed to sit there and wait it out? Lie Ren was a patient man, but this wasn't something he trusted himself to wait for, something he even _wnated_ to trust himself to wait for.

He could call his teammates. Jaune Arc or Pyrrha Nikos had to know _something_ about Nora-how she was, where she was, if she... still wanted nothing to do with him.

Four years. It had been four years since they graduated. Almost three years since he last spoke to his team-his own life had gotten in the way.

Ren lifted his Scroll up again, searching through the contacts for Jaune. He called the leader of his former team, and listened to the Scroll ring, and ring, and ring, until...

"Yeah, this is Jaune, leave a message and I'll call you back." _beep_.

Ren sighed, hanging up. It was just his luck. He only had one shot left.

Pyrrha Nikos.

The world-famous Huntress was most likely busy doing something remarkable, but Ren had to try. He found her name in his contacts and pressed "call."

He once again listened to the Scroll ring, slowly loosing hope, until he heard a soft _click_ and...

"Hello?"

"Pyrrha?" Ren asked, his heart beginning to pound.

"Yes?"

"It's Ren."

"Ren?" Pyrrha asked. "Great Oum! It has been so _long_!" she said happily.

Ren nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "It has."

"How have you been?" Pyrrha asked curiously.

"I'm engaged," Ren told her, remembering she still didn't know.

"Really?" Pyrrha asked excitedly. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Ren replied calmly, smiling faintly.

"To who?" Pyrrha asked.

"Do you remember Ebony Okami? From Atlas?" Ren asked.

There was silence on Pyrrha's end as she searched her memories for the girl. "I think so. It has been quite a while."

"Yes it has," he agreed solemnly. He would tell her about his fiance later-right now, he had other things to talk about.

"You know, we should get together some time," Pyrrha suggested. "Jaune will be back from Vacuo in a week or two. Then we would be able to meet your fiance again."

"It would be nice to catch up," Ren agreed. "How have you been?"

Ren could tell Pyrrha was practically beaming when she told him, "Well, Jaune has been talking to Ruby. And Yang is awful at keeping secrets." Ren could hear her smile broaden as she told him, "According to Yang, he's going to propose!"

Ren's eyebrows furrowed. "To who?" _Ruby?_

"To me!" Pyrrha laughed. "You would know if you called more often," she teased.

"You know how to reach me," Ren replied good-naturedly.

"Actually, no. I had to replace my Scroll. I lost all my contacts," Pyrrha told him.

"Plenty of other have my number," he told her.

She was silent for a while. "We assumed you wanted to be left alone," breathed Pyrrha.

Ren didn't answer for a long while.

Pyrrha's light-hearted tone resumed, and she asked, "So what brought you around all of a sudden?"

"Well... I was unpacking and I... I found an old picture, and... well I was just wondering..." Ren took a deep breath. "Have you talked to Nora lately?"

There was a long silence.

"I called her, but she didn't answer," Ren continued after a moment.

"Ren..." Pyrrha breathed.

"Yes?" Ren replied, wary of her low tone.

"Ren, Nora's..." Pyrrha stumbled over her words, taking a deep breath. "She's... gone."

Ren's eyebrows furrowed. "Gone?"

"I-it happened on a mission in Vacuo, a few years ago," Pyrrha said quietly. "We all thought... we thought you were still mad and..." Pyrrha's words cut of. "We thought you knew... Jaune called but y-you didn't answer..."

"What happened?" Ren demanded.

"A Great Nevermore," Pyrrha managed. "She took it on alone."

"Why?" Ren asked, his voice rising. Nora never fought alone. "Where were you?"

"I-she didn't want us along!" Pyrrha insisted. "She refused to let us come!"

Ren clenched his teeth, fighting back the tightness in his throat. "Pyrrha, I... I'll call you back." Ren moved to hang up, but Pyrrha's voice sounded over the Scroll, stopping him.

"Wait, Ren!"

Ren stopped, bringing the Scroll to his ear again. "What?" he murmered.

"Please," Pyrrha breathed. "Don't shut us out again."

Ren's expression hardened.

"We've already lost Nora," Pyrrha said shakily. "F-for good. We- _I_ don't want to lose you, too..."

"I'll call," Ren repeated firmly, hanging up.

Hey tossed his Scroll carelessly on the bed. Ren immediately blamed himself. It was HIS fault Nora had died. He always fought at her side, no matter what, and it had been his job to protect her. He wasn't there, and now...

He swallowed hard. Her funeral. He hadn't gone. Nora's father, Odin Valkyrie... what did he think? Odin had lost his oldest daughter and his wife when Nora and Ren were young, and then his second wife was, too, torn from him. Now he had lost the last person in his life, and Ren hadn't even _been_ there. It was Ren's _job_ to be there... if he'd known...

Ren took a deep breath. He'd wait for Ebony to come home, and he'd explain everything and then...

He'd go see Odin.

 **A/N: Wow. I am super sorry for the delay. I had the chapter written, but I lost the flashdrive it was on, which was my only flashdrive, so not only did I have to rewrite it, I I also had no way to update until recently. Anyways, thank you for sticking through that really long delay! This story is technically an AU I suppose, since it relies very heavily on Nora's father being alive, which Volume 3 clearly states their parents are dead. Updates will not be very often, I'm afraid, because I'm trying to work on at least five things at once, and when you add school work to that, it doesn't give me all that much time to write in anything, really, but I'm not ending this, even if I'm not all that pleased with how it turned out.**

 **Once again, thanks for reading, drop in a review if you could on how to improve, and I'll see you all in the next update!**

 **~hiddenheart**


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